'Doping is a sign of weakness' - Jan Blachowicz throws veiled jab at Jon Jones
Jan Blachowicz has seemingly thrown a veiled jab at Jon Jones. On the 2021 "Play True Day," Blachowicz put forth a tweet that many feel is a jab at Jones.
Since 2014, WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) as well as the rest of the anti-doping community all around the world have celebrated the Play True Day durin the month of April. Friday April 9th, 2021, marked this year’s Play True Day. On that note, reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz took to his official Twitter account and put forth the following statement:
“Doping is a sign of weakness. Strength comes from hard work. There are no shortcuts here. This is how real champs are born. #PlayTrue #PlayTrueDay”
The Play True Day concept is aimed at spreading awareness regarding the importance of keeping the sporting world clean. It aims to educate athletes and everyone else to refrain from using banned PEDs (Performance Enhancing Drugs).
Keeping in line with the core message of Play True Day, Jan Blachowicz tweeted that doping is a sign of weakness. The Prince of Cieszyn suggested that hard work perpetuates strength. Blachowicz added that there are no shortcuts here, and this is how real champions are born.
Jan Blachowicz put forth a similar statement by way of his official Instagram account as well. Certain sections of the MMA community appear to have taken Blachowicz’s tweet as a disguised attack on his rival, Jon Jones.
Blachowicz has time and again expressed his willingness to fight former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. However, Jones vacated his UFC light heavyweight title last August and is expected to make his debut in the UFC heavyweight division this year (2021).
This, in turn, has led many to believe that a potential fight between Jan Blachowicz and Jon Jones is unlikely to come to fruition anytime soon.
Nevertheless, the social media posts sent out by Jan Blachowicz on Play True Day 2021 have set the MMA world abuzz and served as a reminder of his feud against Jon Jones.
Jon Jones, illegal PEDs, Jan Blachowicz, and their next fights
Jon Jones is widely regarded as one of the best fighters in MMA and combat sports history. That said, Jones’ legendary career has been marred by the drug tests he’s failed on more than one occasion. Jones has tested positive for banned PEDs multiple times over the course of his MMA career.
Around the time of his UFC 182 fight against Daniel Cormier, Jon Jones tested positive for benzoylecgonine which is the primary metabolite of cocaine. Besides, Jones’ testosterone/epitestosterone (T/E) ratio raised suspicion in the MMA world concerning him potentially using banned PEDs.
Additionally, after his interim UFC light heavyweight title fight against Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 197, Jon Jones tested positive for clomiphene and letrozole. This was followed by Jones’ rematch against Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 in 2017, with Jones testing positive for a turinabol metabolite.
Furthermore, an ultra trace amount of turinabol was found in Jon Jones’ system around the time of his rematch against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232 in 2018. Nevertheless, this was attributed to the "pulsing effect" of the M3 metabolite found in his system in 2017. Jon Jones was subsequently cleared in this case by the CSAC (California State Athletic Commission).
Considering Jon Jones’ history of failed drug tests, many are of the view that Jan Blachowicz has indeed jabbed at Jones on Play True Day 2021.
The consensus is that Jon Jones is likely to fight UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou next, in a bid to win the coveted heavyweight title in his divisional debut nonetheless. On the other hand, UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz is expected to defend his title against Glover Teixeira in his next fight.